Sound Bytes; Seeking the Next Xerox PARC

By Lawrence M. Fisher

Published: January 16, 1994

DAVID E. LIDDLE is president of Interval Research, which he co-founded in March 1992 with Paul G. Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft. Interval's lofty but somewhat vaguely defined goal is to be for the 90's what Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) was to the 70's and 80's -- a wellspring of innovative technology. PARC is legendary for having pioneered technologies ranging from the laser printer to the Ethernet office network and the graphical user interface for personal computers. Like PARC, Interval is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Mr. Liddle was an important player at Xerox in the first go-around, and is credited with key roles in the development of the technology that led to the friendly face of Apple's Macintosh. He was also the founder of Metaphor Computer Systems, now a unit of International Business Machines.

Question: What has Interval accomplished in a year and a half?

Answer: We've made a good start toward enumerating and starting work on some of the hard problems of the next 10 years, both technical and people-oriented problems, mostly for new media-oriented products in the context of a rapidly changing communications environment.

Q: Is there a danger that the needs and wants of individuals will be overlooked as the titans rush to stake claims on the new media frontier?

A: Frankly, the real interesting thing about the information superhighway is to start reaching consumers. There's not really the opportunity to ignore what they want to see, what they want to buy. There is a tendency right now for companies in related but declining industries to declare victory. But I'll be very surprised if this is dominated by established players. I've yet to see that happen with any new media.

This is going to be driven by what people choose to do. People do not have any more time or more money. New products are going to have to replace things that they are doing and paying for now.

Q: About the graphical user interface, are you surprised that 10 years after the introduction of the Macintosh, and many more years after the work at Xerox, nothing new has supplanted pull-down menus and mice?

A: Desktop business computing is now a very mature market. We're past the point where innovation is very much rewarded there. The only way to introduce something new in that market is to make people sick of what they already have. On the other hand, there's a whole range of possibilities for the future.

Q: So you don't think the interface to the information superhighway will look like Macintosh or Windows?

A: No, I certainly don't, at least not for very long. There's a social contract between buyer and seller in a business computing device, which is that you are going to spend some time learning how to use this thing and you will get your money back in improved productivity. No such compact exists in consumer products. I'm not ready to declare anything a consumer product before it can be used without any learning period at all. After all, 35 millimeter cameras used to be business tools; before that they were enthusiast devices. Only now are they consumer devices.

Q: Is there an appropriate Government role in the creation of the information superhighway?

A: Mostly it can sponsor discussion and dialogue and be a clearing house for ideas and proposals. I don't feel comfortable asking government to choose a good technical approach, but it can provide a forum for that. I don't feel good about asking taxpayers to support the creation of infrastructure, but government can provide a forum so that private companies hear the concerns of the public.

Q: Is there a place for the classic "garage" startup?

A: In business computing you make something that is going to be used as a tool, so there is a very tangible target market. When you make something for consumers, it's really a hit you're looking for. You may fail four or five times, and then have that one hit that pays for all the failures. This doesn't fit the traditional model for startups, where you hope to build a business from one product. So there's both an opportunity and a need to separate authoring from publication. Development could be separate from selling and marketing. DAVID E. LIDDLE Born: Jan. 9, 1945; Detroit. Education: B.S., University of Michigan; Ph.D., computer sciences, University of Toledo. Noncomputer reading: "Animal Dreams," by Barbara Kingsolver. Drives: 1988 Ford Bronco II. Ideal escape: Santa Fe, N.M. Hobbies: Sailing, flying small planes. Workday: 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. Family: Married two years to "the redoubtable Ruthann Quindlen," a venture capitalist; two grown children from a previous marriage. PC: Apple Macintosh Powerbook Duo 230, Macintosh Quadra 950, EO 440.